is it worth learning tibetan. can you that way ordain somewhere east easier or do you need a connection?

also are personal translators needed or do you need a close connection with a lama for that also?

what are the benefits of learning tibetan?

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

If you are looking to translate texts then there's still a seemingly endless amount to translate. Also, depending on your abilities some may need to be re-translated for quality. Regarding oral translation, this is certainly a worthy skill to acquire, and more teachers could be coming directly from Tibet who would need good translators. I don't see a downside. However, it's not a career that will make you $, so I wouldn't think about it that way.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

I'm not a translator, but am fluent in Tibetan. There is a massive lack of competent Tibetan-English translators. Most of the the oral translators are people who sort of know Tibetan, and then get told by their Lama to translate. On the textual front, the problem is that even the translation groups are mostly made up of people who know some classical, but zero to little colloquial and thus are unable to directly check the text with a qualified Lama. Simply being able to read a text is not the same as being taught it, word by word in the traditional sense. But then most people are too busy, lazy or wanting to pretend to be a Vajrayanist to bother with the ground that supports it all.

"It's not ok to practice Dharma sometimes, just when you feel like it. You have to practice all the time" - Lama Rigzin Rinpoche.

There is a need for oral translators. The FPMT has a decent program to train translators. I completed it but am far from the most illustrious of its graduates, though I can do my job somewhat competently. http://www.lrztp.org/ Illustrious graduates include Ven. Bob Miller (Ven. Zopa) who translates for Khamtrul Rinpoche, the Dzogchen master who lives near Gyuto Monastery, Voula Zarpani, who translated for the late Kirti Tzenshap Rinpoche and now translates for Choden Rinpoche. I believe that Garchen Rinpoche's translator also completed this program. A position is not guaranteed at the end, unfortunately, but many graduates do get placed.

I do feel that 2 years is way too short to fully qualify one as a translator, though people manage. In the first year or so you will have to have a patient lama who will prepare with you before the lessons. Ideally the program would be three years in my opinion.In terms of how much you learn in a short time, though, LRZTP is amazing- but half our class dropped out because the intensity was absolutely too much. There were also weekly quizzes and one had to pass in order to continue, though I understand this has now been relaxed somewhat.

My friend studies at the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu, Nepal and also spoke highly of this program. Rangjung Yeshe has a 1 year translator training program, I have not had any direct feedback about that but am curious as to how they could make a go of it in one year.

If you are interested in oral translation I would say it is crucial to establish a good relationship with the lama you are translating for, then on the basis of that you can have great conditions to improve yourself, and the audience will pick up on the vibe and have more confidence in your capacity to relay what the lama is saying accurately.

There is still a need for oral interpreters, but not so great that a competent person would be guaranteed a job. And certainly, as was mentioned above, you don't do this for the money. I don't know how it would be possible for anyone to support kids through this, for example.

In order to ensure my mind never comes under the power of the self-cherishing attitude,I must obtain control over my own mind. Therefore, amongst all empowerments, the empowerment that gives me control over my mind is the best,and I have received the most profound empowerment with this teaching.-Atisha Dipamkarabrtsal ba'i bkhra drin

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

JKHedrup. that fpmt course is a bit expensive. ive seen a place in Darjeeling where you can do two nine month courses for basically a 1000 dollars

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Several people who tried the Darjeeling course came to LRZTP afterwards because they couldn't get where they wanted to be.But of course things could have changed. I also know people who left LRZTP and went to study in Nepal and were very happy with it. LRZTP was more of a pressure cooker environment than it needed to be but I think these days it is more relaxed.

I am not even saying necessarily LRTZP is the best, the courses in Nepal might be better...especially if you can learn at a more relaxed pace... but the courses in Nepal tend to me more expensive in the long run.

The best thing to do if you are interested is contact students currently in the program you are thinking of joining.

If you compare any of the courses in Asia to similar university programs in the West (where professors often don't speak modern Tibetan, but study the classical language in a fashion similar to the study of Sanskrit or Latin), they are inexpensive in comparison. And interesting from the POV that they give you the tools needed to communicate in the colloquial language of the masters... which even when the master speaks English, can sometimes help you get a deeper understanding and definitely a deeper connection.

In order to ensure my mind never comes under the power of the self-cherishing attitude,I must obtain control over my own mind. Therefore, amongst all empowerments, the empowerment that gives me control over my mind is the best,and I have received the most profound empowerment with this teaching.-Atisha Dipamkarabrtsal ba'i bkhra drin

I also want to say that LRZTP is really for training oral interpreters, not textual translators.

I am currently at a frustrating point in my development where I would like to do textual translation but have no idea how to extend and build my skills in that direction. Reading Tibetan texts is one thing, especially when you have a teacher nearby to ask stuff, but creating an elegant and meaningful translation is a much taller order.

In order to ensure my mind never comes under the power of the self-cherishing attitude,I must obtain control over my own mind. Therefore, amongst all empowerments, the empowerment that gives me control over my mind is the best,and I have received the most profound empowerment with this teaching.-Atisha Dipamkarabrtsal ba'i bkhra drin

yeah i could imagine that you need really to be on the top of the language to be able to produce proper translation. in both languages. im never up for that. even though i have irish citizenship english is not my native language allthough im fluent in it pretty much but my writing is not university level so i wouldnt be able to produce good translations even if i mastered tibetan. or maybe it would change but still. i could imagine it is very difficult. and especially difficult if you want to translate dzogchen texts.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….